1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a bath chair swivel foot, and more particularly to an improvement in the base swivel connector of a tub or shower chair.
2. Description of the Related Art
Taking showers and baths is particularly difficult for motion-impaired persons such as invalids or elderly people. Numerous devices have been proposed over the years for aiding persons in the shower stall or bathtub.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,413,662 to Stayton, for instance, describes a bath seat which swivels about a pole extending between the floor and the ceiling. The user may place him or herself onto the seat outside the tub, swivel the seat inside and then lower the seat into the water. Similar devices are known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,628,550 to Walton and 3,022,518 to Hayden. A swivel chair is pivotally attached to an assembly which, in turn, is attached to the tub or shower wall.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,188,657 to Cotner and 4,726,081 to Duffin et al provide teachings for bathtub lifts, the latter including a hydraulically activated piston assembly for lifting and lowering the bath seat.
A tub chair which is commercially available in the U.S. from the firm Nolan under the name Nolan Tublift and from Blue Chip Medical, Inc. of Salt Lake City, Utah, includes a base with four suction cups for securing the chair to the tub floor, a stem section which is pivotally connected to the base, and a hydraulic lift assembly to which the seat shell is rigidly connected.
Various problems arise from the use of the above-mentioned chairs. Many are too bulky to be considered portable, i.e. for taking on trips. The attachment to tub walls is relatively complicated and usually leads to scratches in enamelled surfaces. A major problem found with the above-mentioned Nolan chair is the swivel connector between the base and the chair stem, i.e. the connection is not sturdy enough to provide the user a sufficient sense of security while sitting on the chair since, especially when the hydraulic assembly is extended, i.e. when the chair is in an upper position, the swivel connector is not able to rigidly support the chair and the weight thereon.